The Youth Justice system in News South Wales is being described with some justification in the mainstream media as being in crisis. Citing an increase in bail refusals sometimes apparently without sufficient cause, instances of segregation, and serious abuse, systemic failures, institutional racism, and neglect in youth justice facilities.
In NSW, like Victoria & WA, children at 16 years of age can be incarcerated in adult prisons in certain circumstances.
There are six youth detention centres in NSW with one being the Acmena Youth Justice Centre at South Grafton, which accommodates boys and young men aged between 10 and 21 years of age who have been sentenced or remanded in custody. Young women and girls may be held at Acmena YJC for short periods and accommodated in the Admissions Centre. Acnena was last scheduled for official inspected in January 2022 by the NSW Inspector of Custodial Services and an unflattering but factual media report of the findings of a 2021 inspection can be found here. A previous official inspection which also contained disturbing observations arrears to have been conducted in July 2019 with a follow-up visit in May 2020.
By 30 June 2021 there were only 375 permanently funded youth detention centre beds in New South Wales, at which time there was an official daily occupancy average of 151 persons and a nightly occupancy average of 201.2 persons.
To place young offenders in police custody in 2022 into perspective, it is noted that from 1 January to 30 September 2022 there were 37,140 adults who had also spent time in police custody.
Total Young Offenders in NSW Police Custody from 1 January to 30 September 2022 [NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research]:
585 individuals between the ages of 10 to 17 years inclusive.
That number represents an increase of 10 young people
compared to the same period in 2021.
Of these 585 young people only est. 185 had been charged with an identifiably violent crime.
A total of 153 young offenders were recorded as “Sentenced” and 432 were listed as “On Remand”.
A total of 36 of these young offenders in police custody were female which represents a decrease of 8 girls compared to the same period last year. Of these 36 young female offenders only 10 were recorded as “Sentenced” and 26 were listed as “On Remand”.
There were 299 young offenders in police custody who identified as Aboriginal. This number represents an increase of 71 young individuals compared with the same period last year. Of these 299 Aboriginal young offenders only 59 were recorded as “Sentenced” and 240 were listed as “On Remand”.
